A schoolgirl saved her mum from being sent to prison – by writing an emotional letter begging a judge to let her go free. Sammy Booth, 14, penned the poignant words after her mum Julie Cairns, 38, was hauled before the courts.

A schoolgirl saved her mum from being sent to prison – by writing an emotional letter begging a judge to let her go free.

Sammy Booth, 14, penned the poignant words after her mum Julie Cairns, 38, was hauled before the courts.

She had led police officers on a drink-fuelled high-speed car chase after giving a V-sign to officers who tried to stop her.

But in a letter to Recorder Phillip Cattan at Minshull Street Crown Court Sammy told how she needed her mum – and was frightened about what would happen if she was jailed.

She wrote: “My mum is a very good mum. She’s loving, caring and always here for me if I need someone to talk to. Mum’s had an alcohol problem for a few years since splitting up from my dad; alcohol turns her into someone she’s not.

“Whilst under the influence of alcohol, her attitude and behaviour change, drink takes over and becomes more important than anything else.

“This doesn’t really feel like it’s my mum, which upsets me.

“I don’t like seeing my mum upset and down saying she doesn’t want to be there no more.

“I tell her it will get better and give her a hug. I just want her better.” Sammy, of Dobcross, near Oldham, also told the judge how her mum’s drinking had affected her school work.

She added: “I’m scared for my mum and I’m scared for myself, I worry what will happen if she’s sent to prison. Where will I stay? What will happen to my pets? Will I be able to see my mum?”

The youngster ends her passionate plea by writing: “The more help she can get, hopefully the better the outcome will be. I love my mum and want her to get better and to be happy.”

After reading the moving letter Recorder Cattan gave Julie a four month prison sentence suspended for two years and ordered her to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. But he told her she had escaped jail by ‘inches’.

He added: “You should be thoroughly ashamed that she had to write such a letter.

“You showed complete disregard for everybody else on the road in order to get away from police officers.

“This is the sort of thing a young tearaway might do, not a person of your years.”

Julie was also banned from driving for three years and ordered to complete a special drink-drive programme. Daughter Sammy said after the case: “I love her so much. She’s a brilliant mum. I’m chuffed to bits that the judge allowed her to come home.”

The court heard how Julie, of Briarfield Road, Dobcross, sped off when police tried to stop her in Dobcross New Road shortly before midnight on August 22 last year.

Officers followed her along eight different roads, with speeds reaching 60mph at times. During the pursuit she drove on the wrong side of the road and sped across a mini-roundabout at 50mph. She was eventually stopped in a cul-de-sac and arrested as she struggled with officers. A breath test showed she was almost four times the drink-drive limit.

Timothy Hopley, defending, said there had been a sad background to the incident, including bereavement, and abuse of alcohol. The court was told she has recently completed a detox programme. Julie, who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, said: “I must have been seeing red that night. At the time, I didn’t know what was happening.

“Sammy is lovely. She’s beautiful and she does everything she can for me. She has seen a better person in me. Drink is a poison and I’d never touch it again. I can’t thank Sammy enough.”

Sammy's lettter to the judge

My mum is a very good mum. She is loving, caring and always here for me if I need someone to talk to. Mum’s had an alcohol problem for a few years since splitting up from my dad – alcohol turns her into someone she’s not. Whilst under the influence of alcohol, her attitude and behaviour change. Drink takes over and becomes more important than anything else.

This doesn’t really feel like it’s my mum, which upsets me.

I don’t like seeing my mum upset and down, saying she doesn’t want to be there no more. I tell her it will get better and give her a hug. I just want her better. Living with my mum’s illness is affecting me in school. I’m sometimes late to school because I have stayed awake looking after my mum to make sure she doesn’t do anything silly to harm herself.

I’ve sometimes been too tired to go to school.

Mum drove that night to get out of the house to stop herself from doing something stupid. Her illness has caused her to harm herself on several occasions.

Ambulances and police are often being called out to help me deal with my mum, but nothing is ever done to help her with her illness.

It’s not just affecting me – it affects my neighbour, my friends and the people who are trying to support me.

I am staying with Heather at the moment, my friend’s mum, four days a week. I still go to my mum’s for tea because I need her to know I’m still here and haven’t left her.

Staying with Heather gives me a set routine for school. I’m more organised, and punctual, and it gives me a regular sleeping pattern. I’m scared for my mum and I’m scared for myself. I worry what will happen if she’s sent to prison.

Where will I stay? What will happen to my pets? Will I be able to see my mum? What will happen to my house? Where will I get money from?

Since losing her job, mum hasn’t got a routine and feels like there’s nothing to get up for any more. She feels alone although people are trying to help her, she’s finding it difficult. Mum’s keen to do detox because she wants to get better for her sake and her children. The more help she can get hopefully the better the outcome will be. I love my mum and want her to get better and be happy. Thank you.

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